A new federal overtime rule is pending but should be finalized soon. Meanwhile, many states have enacted overtime rules that could apply to your employees.
New federal overtime rules are still on the drawing board although things may be finalized soon. Just by way of review, the current threshold for overtime is $23,660. A new rule has been pending since 2016, when the Obama Department of Labor (DOL) rule, which raised the threshold to $47,476 a year was struck down by a federal court. In March, the DOL proposed a new threshold of $35,308 a year to trigger overtime. (for more history, see our post from earlier this year: Overtime rule part 2: DOL proposes $35,000 threshold.) This proposed rule has been under review since that time, but last week, Bloomberg reported that the rule has been sent to the White House for final review: Trump Overtime Rule to Get Final White House Review Next Week
For more updates on this front, see:
- SHRM: DOL to Send Federal Overtime Rule to White House for Review
- SHRM: DOL Proposes More Changes to Regulations on Overtime Calculations
- Fisher Phillips at JD Supra: Checking Off USDOL’s Regulatory Agenda. which includes steps that employers should take in preparation
State overtime rules
Meanwhile, several states are taking things in their own hands when it comes to overtime. See Bill Murphy Jr.’s article at Inc.:
Millions of Employees Will Soon Be Newly Eligible for Overtime Pay. Here’s How to Know If You (or Your Business) Is Affected
He points to these state plans and proposals:
Among the current plans and proposals that could significantly change things:
- Massachusetts is considering boosting its overtime threshold from $23,660 to $64,000.
- In Washington State, the government is working on a plan to increase the threshold to $79,872 (a 300 percent increase)
- A Maine proposal would raise the threshold from $33,000 to $55,000.
- Pennsylvania is weighing a plan to increase its state threshold to $47,000.
- California’s threshold is going up to $62,400.
- New York State is raising it to $58,500.
While you should monitor this topic at state Labor Department offices for any states in which your organization has employees, here are additional state-by-state reference tools to help you track minimum wage / overtime.
- DOL: State Labor Laws
- ExakTime: 2019 overtime laws, state by state
- Employment Law Handbook: State Minimum Wage and Overtime Law Summaries
